The empty place at the table looms a sorrowful void.
Why is it that this time of year the joys are higher for those who are joyful and the pains feel sharper for those who mourn? Not that each aren’t equally abundant all year round, but during the holidays our senses seem to be on overload.
I blame it on the media which shows picture after picture of perfect families with perfect spouses and perfect children and well-mannered dogs.
I blame it on our society which says, “You deserve it, so just buy it and you will be happy.”
I blame it on the evil one who works overtime to make sure misery abounds.
Joy and thankfulness of any sort makes him green with ill.
I picture the Grinch— my boys favorite christmas movie.
He was so shriveled inside that he wanted to inflict the same misery for all. Though he stole everything from the people of Whoville, even the “roast beast” from their dinner tables, he could not squelch their spirit. He couldn’t comprehend the notion that joy comes from within.
Not from “things”,
Not from feasts,
Not from any worldly possession.
The pain of loss and loneliness is a tough shadow to dispel. And maybe those shadows can never be completely banished. We long for those who are missing from our table.
Estrangement, distant locations and death separate us from our loved ones.
We can choose to focus on the dark specter or mediate on the blessings,
For there are blessings everywhere.
Sometimes we have to look past the shroud that engulfs us in order to see the sunlight peaking through the clouds. For the sun is always there, even when we can’t readily see it. It faithfully rises in the east and sleeps in the west.
He made it so,
He made it for us
and he is faithful.
So for today, can we just breathe fresh and focus on the abundance before us?
Lovingly prepared,
Overflowing with goodness,
Shared with strangers, acquaintances, friends, and family.
And we smile and laugh and overeat and take for granted.
So say a prayer for your own heart and for this broken world:
Lord help me not take your abundant blessings for granted. Help me to move past the pain and choose the joy. Be with those on rude mats and bare floors who go to bed hungry and wake up hungry and live every moment of every day with a fight for survival as their constant companion. Be with those who flee for their lives, unsafe in their own country, unwanted in any other,
Displaced,
Devastated,
And disheartened.
Give them food, give them shelter, and give them hope.
Vanquish evil and bring us home to that place of pure joy and banished pain.
In Christ’s Holy name,
Amen
***************
1 Chronicles 29:12-13 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
-Here’s your holiday challenge: Start a blessings list. Each day from now to the new year, write down at least one blessing.
-Hint: If you write down at least three a day you will have 108 to meditate on in the new year.